We Spent Years Building Online Communities. Now We’re Paying to Meet in Person.

Why real-life connection is making a comeback, and 7 easy ways to create more of it in your life.

If you had told me a year ago that I would be paying $45 a month for a “Walking Club”, I probably would have given you a curious little side-eye.

But here I am, six months into a membership for female founders who desire to connect in real life, and it has been wildly impactful for both my heart and my business.

Community-based ads flood my feed, and I find myself clicking on all of them.

Nashville Girls Club? Sure!
Entrepreneur Dinner Club? Yep.
Book and Sip Club? I’m in.
Workout classes? I’m saying yes to all of it at this point.

Eventbrite says that phone-free experiences grew 567% globally from 2024 to 2025. That number is expected to increase even more in 2026.
44% of 18 to 35-year-olds are also likely to spend more money on an event than they did during previous years.

I’ve spent the better part of the past eleven years sharing my entire life on social media, and I personally couldn’t be any more thrilled to see the pendulum swinging away from parasocial and back toward actual social.

Maintaining my in-person community over the years has been essential for me. I wouldn’t be the same person without it.

Life as a creator can get muddy quickly. It’s easy to lose empathy, lose connection, and even lose pieces of yourself when you’re trying to feed the algorithm while remaining true to who you are.

If I’m being frank, those two things rarely coexist well.

Year after year, I’ve noticed that parasocial connection tends to leave me feeling more depleted than fulfilled, but real-life relationships have kept me deeply grounded.

Even now, I can only spend maybe 10-20 minutes scrolling through social media before my body gets the ick and says, Ok, Lindsey, enough. Go and live your actual life.

I’ve also spent years reminding people that what they see online is a true highlight reel. But I think what we miss is just how much of real life simply cannot translate through a phone or computer screen.

When we sit down in person, invite friends over for brunch, sit across from a friend at a coffee shop, or linger around the kitchen after dinner, we get to know the truth behind the pretty pictures. You get to see the parts that don’t make it onto Instagram.

You hear the hesitation in a person’s voice, you notice when they’re not quite themselves, you can bring dinner, pray together, sit beside them when life is awful, or hug them when a Let me know if you need anything! text isn’t quite sufficient.

It really matters.

I was talking with my personal trainer this morning about how unexpectedly transformative it has been for me to start going to the gym four days a week.

I’d always loved working out at home, because I didn’t compare myself to anyone and I never had to feel intimidated by a machine I didn’t know how to use.

But in this season of life, I’ve realized I really need to be around more people.

I’ve been blown away by the conversations I’ve already had at the gym. I’ve been prayed over by complete strangers, I’ve made new friends that I genuinely look forward to seeing each day, and I’ve noticed how much better I feel mentally when I’m regularly getting out of the house, moving my body, and being around other people.

There is something about being loved by people who can actually sit beside you, hold you, pray for you, and stay when you have nothing polished to offer.

Do you realize how much you need, and deserve, that kind of present love, too?

A new survey of 7,449 adults found that nearly 2/3 of Gen-Z adults (64%) are seriously considering quitting social media, which is higher than any other generation, and 44% have deleted at least one social media app permanently from their phone.*

Eventbrite also found that 79% of 18-35-year-olds planned to attend more in-person events this year. Young adults also report that they’re actively building habits away from their screens.

They’re near the top of every generation in reporting that offline behaviors have grown in importance over the last year: visiting local businesses, libraries, and farmers’ markets (40%), attending community events (36%), volunteering (30%), and writing by hand (29%).

I don’t think social media is going anywhere, but I do think we’re starting to remember that it was never meant to replace investing in actual relationships in our daily lives.

I’m very here for it.

It has made me think of all the ridiculously simple ways that we can actually make this happen, because adult friendship has one major enemy:

“We need to plan a day to hang out!”

Nope!

Please, for the love, get it on your calendar before anyone leaves the room or the conversation. Commit to one another and honor that commitment!

Here are a few of my favorite easy ways to get people together:

1. Friend Walk in your neighborhood: As easy as it sounds. Plan 30-minutes to an hour every single week when everyone can gather together for a quick walk. Spend time chatting, catching up, venting, or praying for one another. It can be whatever your heart desires!

2. TJ’s and PJ’s: Everyone comes over in pajamas, brings one favorite snack or meal from Trader Joe’s, and you put everything out for your guests to munch on. You don’t have to worry about hosting or having everything perfect, it’s just a nice night in. We also added face masks to make our TJ’s and PJ’s party extra cozy!

3. Restaurant Dinner Club: Pick one night a month to try a new restaurant, and rotate who gets to choose the place. My cousins and I are doing this right now and it has been SO fun! We’ve also found some new all-time-favorite restaurants.

   

   

4. Book Club: It doesn’t need to be theologically deep or logically impressive if you don’t want it to be. Pick something people are excited to read, pour a drink, make some easy snacks, and let the book be an excuse to hang out.

5. Food Board Party: This was one of my favorite parties I’ve hosted! Everyone brings a board: breakfast, tacos, desserts, chips and dips, whatever sounds fun. It’s ridiculously easy, looks cute, and gives a wide variety of food to choose from, without one person doing all the work.

   

   

6. Pastries on the Driveway: Pick up pastries, donuts, and boxes of coffee on a Saturday morning to serve your neighbors. Text anyone you know (or post on your local FB group) the night before, and put some chairs in the driveway. It’s a great way to meet new people without having to dirty your house.

7. Neighborhood Ice Cream Delivery: Buy a bunch of ice cream treats, load them into a cooler or wagon, and walk the neighborhood (or drive in a car or golf cart) to hand them out. My boys LOVED this and really enjoyed the ability to be generous with friends and strangers in our ‘hood.

I don’t think that the answer is necessarily deleting every app or pretending that social media doesn’t have value. It is a huge part of my business and life.

However, it will never replace truly being known in real life.

The kind of community you’re likely craving won’t happen by accident. Go shopping together, call the long-distance friend, and invite people over to your house before it’s perfect.

Until next time. <3

*Source: Murmuration

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